Blood Corruption
by CrazyPoet
Summary: In order to unlock the true potential of the Shikon jewel, Naraku must devise an act of unparalled horror. With the lives of all he loves hanging in the balance, Inuyasha must defeat Naraku or lose everything.


Disclaimer:

I do not own Inuyasha (c) If this information is new to you, then most likely you have been living in a box. I hope it is a nice box.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 1--Love Interrupted

In his hand the jewel soaked up the last rays of the sun, glittering ominously with unspoken potential. He rolled it back and forth, watching it travel along the fine lines of his hand, listening to its silent plead for blood, darkness, defilement. How he longed to fulfill its desires, so similar to his own desires. He hated the world. He longed to erase it all, leaving only himself to fill up the universe. He yearned for loneliness, longed to kill, to destroy everything, everyone. He wanted to be the ultimate power, to create his own demonic world—and he knew this too was the true desire of the Shikon jewel. Once, he had come close. He had severed the bond of two inseparable lovers, staining their lives with hatred and regret. But still, the jewel had remained pure thanks to that damned priestess, Kikyo. It had taken nearly fifty years to carve out the heart of Onigumo within himself and destroy the cursed woman. Even now, her reincarnation--Kagome-- roamed freely, in possession of two of the three remaining shards. One was embedded in his servant Kohaku, but would soon be removed, killing the boy. He desired to save this moment as a special treat when Inuyasha and his companions arrived at the castle.

Naraku sighed deeply, pacing about the hallowed halls. All of his detachments had been killed, and while he deeply enjoyed his solitude, there were errands to be done. To complete the jewel would be a simple matter, but to unleash its true power would require a heinous act as of yet unparalleled.

His previous attempt had failed. The fact of the matter was that Inuyasha and Kikyo had been distrustful of each other despite their love—Kikyo had desired that Inuyasha become a human for her, while it was not Inuyasha's true desire to lose his youki. However, he had observed for sometime the growing relationship between Kagome and Inuyasha. Kagome encouraged the hanyou to remain as a half demon, and when she combined her holy powers with those of his Tessaiga, they were nearly unstoppable. In fact, they had once come very close to destroying him. He knew it was futile to attempt to build mistrust between them, and he didn't want to give Kagome the chance to be rid of the jewel as he had Kikyo.

No, something different was in order. Something more appropriate for his greatest adversary. First, he would torture and destroy Kagome. He would let Inuyasha watch until in a furious rage, he would be forced to release Tessaiga and let go of his full demon blood. Once in his full demon form, he would lose control, and not knowing friend from foe, kill Kagome. He, Naraku, would then complete the jewel and use its powers to destroy the hanyou, finally establishing himself as the master of the Shikon jewel.

Yes, he would sleep well tonight, but first, one more detachment was in order.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Inuyasha, OSWARI!" yelled Kagome, stamping her foot in anger. "How can you be so insensitive?" This is someone's life we're talking about, Sango's brother!

Sango stood from the boulder where she had been sitting and placed her hand on Kagome's shoulder. "No, he's right, Kagome. We can't be rid of the jewel until it's complete. If Kohaku could think clearly, I think…I know…he would want it this way."

Kagome sighed and looked away. She hadn't meant to act so rashly at Inuyasha's expense, but with the prospect of the jewel becoming complete, her heart was in turmoil. A large part of her was filled with guilt—guilt at bringing the jewel back to this time, although in all honesty she had been dragged into the well by a giant centipede. She also felt guilty for enjoying her time with Inuyasha so much, even though it was she who had split the jewel into hundreds of shards resulting in the seemingly endless search. Sometimes she even blamed herself for Kikyo's death—she had tried so hard to save her, to preserve Inuyasha's happiness. But because her powers were so unrefined, she often felt more of a burden than a help.

Inuyasha stood, dusting off his bright red haori. He was about to yell at Kagome, but upon seeing the pained expression on her face, his heart softened. She was always doing that to him, softening him--defeating the anger and hurt of his past. It drove him crazy, but still he could hardly deny that he longed for her company. Although he had been direct about the need to get the shard from Kohaku, he understood in full the pain of sacrificing the life of a loved one. He knew the decision was excruciating for Sango, and that was why he had felt the need to be the one to say it, so she wouldn't have to. Noticing that Miroku was doing an adequate and surprisingly appropriate job of comforting Sango, Inuyasha decided to seize the moment of opportunity to dissipate some of the tension between himself and Kagome.

"Oi, Kagome, come with me."

Kagome looked up, surprised. "Oh, okay," she said, climbing onto his back. To her surprise, Inuyasha bounded towards the ancient tree Goshinboku, the place where they had first met. Gracefully he landed on the highest branch, a spectacular view of the twilight of ancient Japan stretched before them.

"Do you miss her?" Kagome blurted, knowing Inuyasha was still adjusting to the idea of Kikyo's death. Inuyasha lowered his head, the evening breeze tousling his silver hair.

"Is that why you've been upset?" he asked, sighing deeply. Even in death, Kikyo still seemed to come between them.

"No!" cried Kagome, not wanting Inuyasha to feel guilt over his grieving. "I just mean—I'm…I'm sorry! I really didn't want her to die!"

Inuyasha raised his head and smiled at her. "Kagome, do you think I blame you? Is that what this is about?"

Kagome sighed deeply, wishing she could just tell him everything on her mind. "Well, I'm just sorry she couldn't be saved, I suppose," she replied lamely.

I don't think you've ever wished death on anyone, that's what's so special about you! If anything, you've saved me…from enemies, from my fear of trust, from my desire to become a full demon and lose myself," said Inuyasha firmly.

Kagome smiled, her face alight. "Do you mean it? You'll stay a hanyou?"

"Yeah," said Inuyasha, trying not to appear as if it had been a major decision. "It's no big deal or anything. Look at Naraku, he's a hanyou and his powers are nearly limitless. I figure, maybe there's something to being half a human."

"Oh yeah?" said Kagome, grinning. "And it doesn't have anything to do with me telling you over and over?"

"Key!" he scoffed. "Of course not. You'll leave once the jewel is complete anyway."

Kagome frowned and moved away. "Is that what you want?" she asked, looking down.

"I didn't say that!" he yelled, sensing an argument coming on. "But you have your own life, and I can't make you stay here, at least not as long as I've got this stupid necklace around my neck!"

Kagome looked at him thoughtfully, and leaned in closer.

"Ka..go..me?" he whispered, afraid.

Lightly, she placed her hands around his neck, her nose almost touching his. With a quick movement, she unclasped the rosary around his neck and it fell to the forest floor, the beads becoming lost among the leaves.

"You can make me stay now," she said softly, still not moving away. "Will you?"

A fierce breeze blew across the feudal era, the leaves trembling and swirling among invisible streams.

Inuyasha closed his eyes and leaned in, feeling more sure of what he was about to do than he had been of anything in his entire life. Just as his lips brushed against hers, a swift shaft of wood hurled through the air towards them, a black arrow. The deadly weapon flew through Kagome's back and into Inuyasha's stomach, pinning them together.

Kagome's body stiffened. Inuyasha felt her hands grasp his haori tightly. They both looked into each other's eyes with the unsaid realization that the arrow had been laden with some type of paralyzing poison. Frozen in a tight embrace, they slowly began to fall, their bodies hitting the ground with a sickening thud.

The Dark Archer approached the unconscious couple, Naraku at his side.

"How was it that he did not detect your scent?" asked the archer, his voice dark and deep.

Naraku, in his familiar white baboon cloak, inspected the bodies. "You have good aim," he replied. "No vital organs pierced…a few broken bones, excellent. He could not detect me because the Shikon no Tama is nearly complete. Within it I can conceal my jyaki, traveling in the shadows as I please."

The archer grunted in approval. "Which would you like me to take?"

Naraku looked at his prey thoughtfully. "Take the hanyou, be sure to bind him with these." Naraku tossed his detachment thin, silver handcuffs. In place of a keyhole was a shard-shaped groove. "I will take care of the girl—if you were to touch her, you would be purified."

The archer laughed. "Yes, I don't doubt that…I am, after all, quite impure."

As the archer inspected the handcuffs, Naraku bounded over to Kagome. He placed a finger on the arrow protruding from her back and instantly, it disintegrated. His arm began to reach under her head, when suddenly he was forced backward by an immense force.

"You will not come near," a small voice commanded.

Naraku's eyes narrowed. The archer shot him a confused look.

"What's going on, father? Wha—is that a barrier, around them?" A faint pink aura surrounded Inuyasha and Kagome, energy crackling around the perimeter where they had fallen.

"Kagome, how is that you are awake?" asked Naraku calmly. "If you cooperate, I assure you this process will be much less painful for you both."

"The Shikon no tama does not lie," said Kagome, her voice strained. "I can hear it…it knows what you desire. So do I."

"Hmph," muttered Naraku, irritated that his plan had been complicated. "You are in no state to argue with me. Lower your barrier, and I will swear on the Shikon jewel to allow Inuyasha to live."

"Your promise means nothing!" Kagome shouted, the barrier wavering.

Naraku laughed. "Oh, I see. You can't even control the barrier…it's just a defense mechanism powered by those two shards you have with you. How pathetic. Any moment it will die, and then, I will do what I please with you both."

"You'll be sorry," said Kagome, the barrier holding strong.

The archer, who had been watching the scene with interest, drew another dark arrow from his quiver. "Father, may I?" he asked.

Naraku nodded. "Yes, son, let's see who is more powerful….a little injured miko or the dark priest of Naraku."

The archer took aim at the barrier, and his dark arrow flew to its mark. Kagome tried to control the barrier, but as the blood flew from the hole made in her body by the first arrow, her weakened powers were no match. The arrow disintegrated on impact, but so did the barrier. The poison took over at last, and just as she felt Inuyasha squeeze her hand, she faded back into unconsciousness.

Naraku approached the girl once more, picking her up gently, her head and legs cradled in his arms. The archer bound Inuyasha's hands behind his back and summoned a large, dragon-like creature from the sky. Naraku placed a white envelope in the puddle of blood where Inuyasha and Kagome had been, and then they flew into the night, leaving a peaceful forest behind.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Miroku held Sango in his arms, noticing the gentle tug of his Kazana against the cloth covering his hand. He never used to feel it, but recently the pull had become stronger. He couldn't help but notice the irony of his current situation--here he was comforting Sango over the soon-to-be loss of her last family member, Sango, the love of his life--yet soon he too would be taken away from her, pulled into a black void, forever to exist in nothingness. He knew it had been selfish of him to allow her to fall for him, but as he held her, he knew that he could not live his remaining days without her. He had always been selfish, and would be so to his last breath.

Sango stirred, stetching out her arms, taking in the evening.

"Houshi-sama," she asked, stifling a yawn. "Shouldn't Inuyasha and Kagome have returned by now?"

Miroku sighed, not wanting his time with Sango to end so abruptly. He too reached out with his Buddist senses, searching for the presence of evil. Finding none, he instead took the opportunity to allow his hands to wander, coincidently landing on Sango's posterior. Moments later his face was glowing with a bright red handmark, but he could have sworn that she allowed his hands to linger longer that time.

"Ah, Sango, you're so cruel!" he whined. "I'm sure they're just, you know, making up," he added, with a wink.

Sango rolled her eyes, though for Kagome's sake, she hoped Inuyasha would find it in his heart to move past Kikyo. If Inuyasha admitted his feelings for her young friend, then maybe she would stay with them in the feudal era. Not wanting to interrupt their time alone, but overtaken by her youki exterminator instincts, she decided it was time to find them.

"C'mon, Miroku," she said, smiling. "You can think of an excuse to get us a nice room in the next village for the night on the way." Miroku, looking content with this task, gathered their things and they made their way into the forest towards the well, enjoying the uninterrupted view of Sango's tempting walk.

Later, they would wish that they had never gone to the clearing. They would wish that they had not read the letter in the pool of blood. They would wish that they had stayed in the meadow clearing, holding each other, talking about a hopeful future. They would wish a lot of things.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Thanks for reading! I tried to make it nice and long, since I'm always complaining about short chapters. Sorry if it was a bit dull, I assure that the following chapters will be a little more action packed. Please let me know if you have any suggestions, and I'm always looking for good new stories to read! --CP

Up Next: Chapter 2--Miscalculation


End file.
